Health Observances

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The CMS Office of Minority Health welcomes your participation in promoting observances throughout the year to raise awareness about health issues affecting people across our nation. Share our resources on prevention, health equity, and research about health disparities.

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Spotlight

Honoring National Hispanic Heritage Month

September 15 through October 15 is National Hispanic Heritage Month, a time to honor the 63.7 million Hispanic people living in the United States. This month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Office of Minority Health (CMS OMH) would like to raise awareness of the health disparities that impact Hispanic Americans and highlight efforts to reduce gaps in health care.

Hispanic Americans are at greater risk of various health conditions due to a lack of preventive care and health insurance, as well as language barriers. In 2022, almost 28% of Hispanic adults didn’t have health insurance compared to Black (13.3%), White (7.4%), and Asian (7.1%) adults. Hispanic adults with limited English proficiency (LEP) are also less likely to regularly see a doctor, use preventive services, and get health screenings. Improving health literacy and ensuring culturally competent care is available can help encourage Hispanic people to use preventive services available to them.

We’re proud to have recognized Latino Connection as a 2024 CMS Health Equity Award winner. Latino Connection is a community-based organization in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, that is helping to improve health care access in Hispanic communities. They recently worked to address health disparities through the Community-Accessible Testing & Education (CATE) initiative. CATE was launched in 2020 to support communities in Pennsylvania who were disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, especially Hispanic and LGBTQI+ individuals. Latino Connection improved the health of more than 37,000 people by delivering thousands of COVID-19 tests, vaccines, and resources, along with personal protective equipment kits.

Help CMS and others in your community advance health equity for Hispanic people this month and beyond by reviewing and sharing the resources below.